1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140 
Disposal Board and Company Sales
Page 48
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
RINTING difficulties associated with the reproduction of a map, apart from the pressure of work at the Ministry of Transport caused by the rail strike, are understood to have delayed the publication of the Road Haulage Disposal Board's half-yearly report. It was expected to be published about midday yesterday, and will be summarized in next week's issue.
The report is believed to deal at some length with the company procedure for disposal and to contain some interesting points, although it does not give much new information. It includes the usual statistics.
The Board do not appear to have evolved a plan to deal with the unsold large units offered in list S.4.
ECONOFREIGHT REFUSED SIX LORRIES AT an adjourned hearing at Stocktonon-Tees last Saturday, Mr. G. W. Duncan, Northern Deputy Licensing Authority, refused outright an application by Econofreight Transport, Ltd., Stockton-on-Tees, for six additional tipping vehicles of 8 tons each under an A licence.
An application by the company for an A licence for a tanker for the transport of bulk cement was again adjourned.
There were 33 objectors, for whom eight witnesses were called last Saturday FISH TRANSPORT: NEW TALKS
AN extraordinary general meeting of the Hull Fish Merchants' Protection Association is to be called to review the result of road transport operation during the railway strike and to consider implications for the future.
Mr. I. Class, president of the Hull wholesalers' organization, has stated that many members were anxious to know the form of the industry's future transport arrangements.
During the strike, Hull merchants formed their own road transport pool and had about 100 vehicles at their disposal, as well as privately owned vehicles. The smooth working of the emergency plan was the subject of much favourable comment.
MARKS FOR FARM VEHICLES "THE Minister of Transport proposes to amend the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations to permit a farmer to display on a trailer drawn by an agricultural tractor the registration mark of any such vehicle in his possession. This information was given in a written answer on Monday to a question put by Sir A. Bosson.
PYRFNE-MINIMAX MERGER
HOLDERS of over 90 per cent of the shares of Minimax. Ltd., have accepted the offer of the Pyrene Co., Ltd., to acquire their 5s. ordinary shares at 16s. 3d. each.
a22 Rail Revenue Down 118.2m.
British Railways had net receipts of £14.8m. (a drop of £18.2rn. on the 1953 figure), the Commission's provincial and Scottish buses £5m. (an improvement of £200,000), and London Transport's road services, £1.3m. (an increase of £1.4m.).
There was altogether a working surplus of 145.5m., a reduction of f13.9m. on the previous year's figure.
Last year's deficit of £11.9m. "does not fully reflect the continuing upward trend of wages and prices or the effect of road haulage disposals, or the declining levels of traffics of public transport systems."
Further wage increases which came into force last January, and would cost £20m. in a full year, in addition to those which became effective last year (costing f23m. in a full year), "must be a cause of acute financial anxiety in the period ahead."
The working surplus fell mainly because fares and freight charges were never able to catch up quickly enough with rising wages and prices.
Referring to the high level of prosperity in the country as a whole, the report points out that this may tend to
Working Costs Total 164m.
B.R.S. working expenses of £64,025,500 are broken down as follows:—Vehicle operating expenses, £34,020,971; maintenance and depreciation of rolling stock, £12,989,030; other traffic expenses, £5,102,984; maintenance and renewal of structures, £415,502; vehicle licence duties, 41,946,848; general, £9,550,165.
Last year, 964 new chassis and tractor units and 418 new trailers were delivered. The supply of additional semi-trailers enabled great progress to be made in developing the services for which articulated units are most suited, and operating efficiency was increased.
The report claims that the new [Bristolj maximum-capacity articulated vehicles .developed for B.R.S. are the first of their kind in which the tractor and semi-trailer have been designed and developed as an entity, giving several advantages in performance. Some maximum-capacity eight-wheelers have been fitted with exhaust brakes and preliminary results indicate a useful increase in the life of the normal brake drums and facings, as well as increased safety.
At a Press conference, Sir Brian Robertson, chairman of the B.T.C., described the results of B.R.S. for last year as "remarkable," especially when it was considered that they had been produced during a year when the division had been "under the harrow of disposals."
He looked forward to stability, and was confident "that the country will